The Round Up — April 28 2018
Diamondbacks Make It 8
The Diamondbacks sit at 17–7 after a win Yesterday over the Phillies. That’s obviously a great start, and there seems to be even more to be excited about in Arizona. The National League Champion Dodgers are playing below .500 and the D-Backs have handled Colorado with no problems so far this year. Their competition in the division from last year seems to have hiccuped early on. On top of that, Patrick Corbin looks like he could be competing for a Cy Young, Robbie Ray is still firing 98 & hitting corners, and they also have this guy named Paul Goldschmidt who went 3–5 yesterday and currently on the type of tear that only elites like himself can produce. The Diamondbacks won the Wild Card game in the playoffs last year before getting swept by the Dodgers, but Arizona looks like they’re ready to take the next step this year. Look for them down the stretch to try to acquire someone like Chris Archer to fill out their rotation and make a real pennant run.
Acuna Already Producing
Well, that was fast. Ronald Acuna already registered his first homerun, coming in the second inning of yesterday’s game. The homer came off the Reds Homer Bailey, and according to Statcast it traveled 416ft and came off the bat at 105.8mph. This guy has all of the advertised power and then some. Acuna was projected to have some serious pop by all the baseball experts but I don’t think they thought he would be hitting 400+ ft bombs in the Major Leagues at 20 years old. This kind of power is reminiscent of when Bryce Harper came up to the big leagues and terrorized NL East pitching. Acuna finished the game 3–4, with a HR, a double and 2 RBI’s. It looks like Ronald Acuna is here to stay.
Sanchez Walks Off, Heats Up
Earlier this month we wrote about how terribly Gary Sanchez was playing. He was batting as low as .059 at one point and Yankee fans & experts alike were starting to ask questions. Last night El Gary rocketed a three-run walk-off home run into the left-field seats, giving the Yanks a 4–3 win and extending a six-game winning streak. Gary is starting to look scary again, now that he’s up to 3 HR’s and 9 RBI’s this week. How many more times will we be hearing John Sterling give his signature “Gary is….Scary” call this year?
The Dean Of Pittsburgh
The Veteran Right Hander Ivan Nova took the mound yesterday with a worn out bullpen and depleted lineup after the Pirates lost 7 of 9 and both games of a double header yesterday. He shined the entire game, going 8 scoreless innings while striking out 5. Ivan Nova is a good arm on a very bad team, but when we pitches like this they don’t need any help except one guy to touch the plate.
This Weekends Stories
Two big stories to watch for this weekend is the red hot Diamondbacks heading to Washington to play the struggling Nationals. The Nationals are coming off a horrific road trip, but they closed it out with a monster 15 run game which could signal a turn around. Watch that series for what i’m sure will be fireworks. The second story is on Saturday when Johnny Cueto (0.35 ERA) goes up against Alex Wood. You should watch for Cueto going up against a formidable foe which will test how good he has been this year. If you can’t catch these games because you’re relaxing with family and friends, you can come back here and read about it on Monday.
Fantasy News
Mike Fires — Waiver Wire
If you’ve been playing fantasy baseball for long enough, you have probably skimmed the waiver wire countless times to squeeze out some extra points in a week where your pitchers don’t have a lot of starts. That is exactly what a guy like Mike Fires is for. He’s not even near good enough to have a permanent spot on your team, but when Fires has a matchup like he does tomorrow against the troubled Orioles, he can produce a decent amount of points. He did just that against the White Sox earlier this year, scoring 25 in a standard points league starts. Mike Fires! Pick him up for today.
Sean Doolittle — Make A Trade
The Washington Nationals closer, who burst onto the scene last season as one of the top closers, is back throwing great. He was acquired late in the season from the Oakland A’s and ended up notching 21 saves in 22 opportunities. Sean Doolittle is known to Nationals fans as “DOOOOOO” at the ballpark and has quickly become a fan favorite. However, he has also become a highly coveted fantasy option. He is owned in 93% of ESPN leagues this season and has 4 saves. However, it is known that the Nationals bullpen is struggling right now. They have had injuries and blown games from Kintzler and Madson in the 7th & 8th, which is less opportunities for Doolittle. This presents an opening for all fantasy owners looking to bolster their bullpens. Convince whoever has Doolittle that he is worth less with the Nationals bullpen being bad, wait for the Nationals to turn it around, and boom you have a top 10 closer. Easy as pie.
Scaf’s Picks
The Mets blew THREE leads in yesterday’s game and ended up losing in 13 innings. Let’s finish out the week strong. Tomorrow’s picks:
- Chicago White Sox (+120)
- Philadelphia Phillies (-180)
- Colorado Rockies (-130)
Balzy’s Beat The Streak Pick
Yelich screwed us yesterday so we are set back to finish off the week. Tomorrow’s pick is Bryce Harper.
Streak Counter — 0
Bonus — Trevor Richards
One of the best feel good stories of the year is Trevor Richards. He is a pitcher for the Marlins who out pitched Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday. Richards recent previous employment includes a substitute teacher (this past summer), a brewery employee, and now a strikeout artist. He out pitched one of the best pitchers in baseball, and taught young minds in a high school in the same year. It’s baseball players like Richards that make the dream of making it to the big leagues seem possible to the little kids who went 0–4 today and are seriously considering a much easier sport like say, lacrosse. I hope we get more of Trevor Richards this year sitting lineups like the Dodgers in their place.
That’s it for the Round Up this week. Check back Monday for a recap of the weekend. Also, Follow us on Twitter & Instagram for even more content.
